NASA has outlined health investigations scheduled for the SpaceX CRS-35 supply mission to the International Space Station. Lab-grown brain models, infected plants and drug-resistant bacteria are among the subjects compared with experiments on Earth. A compact instrument is also due for its first onboard scientific test. The announcement describes planned research and equipment, with the mission’s biological results still outstanding.
NASA, the US space agency, outlined four investigations for the SpaceX CRS-35 supply mission to the International Space Station. The spacecraft is scheduled to leave Cape Canaveral in Florida with research comparing biological processes in microgravity and on Earth. The announcement presents experiment objectives and equipment ahead of their results.[1]
Small, three-dimensional brain models grown in a laboratory are scheduled for five weeks aboard the station. Researchers plan to compare them with identical models on Earth to examine stress affecting cells and alterations in their function. The models are limited systems reproducing selected features of tissue.[1]
A plant experiment examines infection by a disease-causing fungus, comparing molecular and structural changes in space-grown and Earth-grown material. The question concerns how microgravity changes plants’ response to disease, with food production during spaceflight as its application context.[1]
A compact microplate reader that reached the station earlier this year is due for its first scientific test. Measuring antibodies, antigens and proteins onboard offers an alternative to waiting for biological samples to return to Earth. During its fourth station stay, planned as the final one, the bacterial investigation follows drug-resistant organisms by repeatedly sampling surfaces. The work addresses crew health during long missions; these planned measurements establish no new treatment benefit.[1]
